'Wreck-It Ralph 2' Trailer Shows Off The Disney Cinematic Universe

ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 14: Director Phil Johnston (L) and director Rich Moore of RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK-IT RALPH 2 took part today in the Walt Disney Studios animation presentation at Disney's D23 EXPO 2017 in Anaheim, Calif. RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK-IT RALPH 2 will be released in U.S. theaters on November 21, 2018. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

The latest trailer for Wreck-It Ralph 2 is notable not just for its clever depiction of the internet giants as looming skyscrapers in a digital city, but for the all the iconic characters shooting around the screen and interacting in ways we’ve never seen before, outside of shows like Robot Chicken.

The Disney Kingdom has expanded into a vast empire over the years, as it swallowed up Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and recently, 21st Century Fox, giving them the rights to, well, just about everyone.

And Wreck-It Ralph proves a perfect vessel to experiment with official characters in an unofficial setting, licensed satire that whets the appetite for a fully fleshed out Disney Cinematic Universe. The trailer is a bit like Ready Player One, except all the pop culture references are actually up to date. Vanellope watches Iron Man soar through the sky before being swarmed by Stormtroopers, and sneaks into the Disney Princess room.

The scene will likely amount to little more than a cameo in the film, but it feels surprisingly natural to see all of Disney’s damsels finally acknowledge each other's existence beyond mere merchandising. Of course, the scene goes meta, and mocks the over-the-top, innocent demeanor of the Princesses by showing Cinderella smash her glass slipper into a weapon, and highlighting how all of their stories are centered around abuse and attempted murder.

The short scene is like a tease for an interconnected universe, especially seeing as we’ve already seen Rapunzel make a sneaky cameo in Frozen. If superheroes can band together outside of their solo outings, then why can’t Disney princesses? A proper team-up between the women of Disney without their knights in shining armor would be a bigger deal than the forming of the Avengers; Elsa and Rapunzel already have fully-fledged superpowers, Merida is pretty much Hawkeye, and the rest of the team can talk to animals.

Hints of future mega-franchises aside, the trailer certainly amps up the central appeal of the first film, which boasted the cross-pollination of famous video game franchises, many of which had never appeared together outside of fan fiction.

The sequel boasts a uniquely meta blend of video game, film, and internet icons. And according to rumor, Super Mario himself might be making an appearance, seeing as he skipped the last outing. Thankfully, that first film didn’t rely too heavily on the novelty of seeing iconic characters interact, and actually had an enjoyable story centered around two original characters.

All we’ve seen so far from the trailers is the novelty of big brand names interacting, but that’s fine - too many story details tend to spoil, and it’s a no-brainer for the marketing department to highlight their strongest asset.

These trailers have all been pretty damn funny, and clever, so far, so hopefully, we’ve still got a few surprise jokes to look forward to in the movie itself.